Wythe County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

25,040

100.00%

27,163

100.00%

In Poverty

4,375

17.47%

3,001

11.05%

Not in Poverty

20,665

82.53%

24,162

88.95%

11 Years and Under

3,701

14.78%

3,761

13.85%

In Poverty

964

3.85%

534

1.97%

Not in Poverty

2,737

10.93%

3,227

11.88%

12 to 17 Years

2,136

8.53%

2,141

7.88%

In Poverty

515

2.06%

208

0.77%

Not in Poverty

1,621

6.47%

1,933

7.12%

18 to 64 Years

15,514

61.96%

17,222

63.40%

In Poverty

2,143

8.56%

1,717

6.32%

Not in Poverty

13,371

53.40%

15,505

57.08%

65 Years and Above

3,689

14.73%

4,039

14.87%

In Poverty

753

3.01%

542

2.00%

Not in Poverty

2,936

11.73%

3,497

12.87%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.